(Hypebot) — The future of entertainment isn’t about going big – it’s about going niche. This updated MIDiA playbook for music marketing explores how tapping into smaller, more specific scenes can drive real, lasting success.
MIDiA’s updated playbook for music marketing
by Tatiana Cirisano via MIDiA Research
In 2022, MIDiA introduced scenes as a new playbook for music marketing. As entertainment consumption fragments, what was once a singular “mainstream” is being replaced by hundreds of thousands of smaller scenes, or subcultures – like gorpcore, hyperpop fans, or retro gamers. Rather than struggling to replicate the mass-market successes of the past, the report concludes, music marketers can connect with sustainable, core audiences by developing artists in the scenes they resonate with.
In the years since, these trends have only deepened. The entertainment world’s dominant approach of the last five years – chasing virality – is actually becoming counterproductive, as viral artists, songs, and products burn through target audiences too quickly, exhaust consumers, and riskiest of all, can end up alienating the fans who supported them early on. A new strategy is needed. Meanwhile, the scenes which may have once been considered too niche are growing larger than ever, thanks to social media algorithms – while often still remaining invisible to outsiders. It is becoming clear that our first report was just the tip of the scenes iceberg.
Scenes-based strategy is not just a marketing tool, but rather a much wider reset on how entertainment companies operate.It is about rethinking almost every aspect of business – from organisational structure to monetisation to the artists, games, films, creators, and ideas companies invest in to begin with. This updated strategy is the subject of MIDiA’s latest report, ‘Scenes are the new markets | Why and how entertainment should go niche‘.
Here is a sneak peek.
What is a scene?
After years of studying the subject, MIDiA defines a scene as a group of people whose shared interests, aesthetics, value system, behaviours, and vernacular have coalesced into a shared lifestyle and circle of social belonging, which is supported by physical and / or virtual gathering space(s). While fandom of a music genre, sport, or game often provides the basis of a scene, a scene forms in earnest when members have more than one shared interest, which is why scenes are often cross-entertainment. For example, members of the drift phonk scene primarily bond over drift phonk music, but also tend to share interest in street racing and anime.
FEATURED REPORT: Scenes are the new marketsWhy and how entertainment should go niche
In 2022, MIDiA introduced scenes as a new lens for marketing music. This report expands on the concept, reintroducing scenes – groups of people whose shared interests, aesthetics, values, behaviours,…Find out more…
How do scenes and entertainment businesses intersect?
Scenes are what make up culture, and culture is deeply intertwined with entertainment. Entertainment companies launch the media that spark scenes, expose scenes to new members, and provide the tools to help them connect, the artifacts that signify their allegiance, the spaces where they activate, and the patronage to support their activities. The full report delves not only into each of these elements, but also provides specific analysis and recommendations for each type of entertainment company – covering IP owners, agencies, streaming platforms, cultural curators, social platforms, games, and venues.
What does scenes-based strategy look like?
Like many things worth doing, shifting to a scenes-based strategy will not be easy. Scenes cannot not exist without authenticity, which cannot be bought or manufactured – and the larger a scene grows, the more it naturally dilutes. This is why scenes-based strategy constitutes such a reset, impacting every area of business:
Growth strategy: While traditional businesses emphasise scaling as large as possible as quickly as possible, scenes-based businesses are more long-term-minded, focusing on slow and steady, sustainable growth over time
Investment philosophy: Scenes-based businesses understand that more investment money does not necessarily translate to bigger success. Consider The New Yorker’s recent tale of two professional YouTubers, where a creator with a small team creating low-production-quality videos fared better than a similar creator who funneled millions into his own. As the article concludes, the former creator “seems to be maxing out the financial potential of his medium by staying small”
Creative strategy: Rather than investing in the ideas which are assumed to make the most money, the fastest, scenes-based businesses invest in the ideas which will connect most deeply with scenes – trusting that the revenue will come
Audience: Instead of defining audiences purely by demographics like their location and age, audiences are also defined psychographically (e.g., what are their hobbies, their values?)
Organisation: Entertainment businesses typically operate with top-heavy talent rosters, relying on a handful of “blockbusters” each year. Instead, scenes-based businesses spread their bets across many, smaller “cult hits” for scenes – the way A24 has done with its wide roster of indie films for tightly-defined target audiences, from Problemista for city-dwelling creatives to Pearl for camp horror fans
Monetisation: Traditional businesses sell a product; scenes-based businesses monetise the emotional connection that audiences have to that product.
MIDiA clients can access the full report here, including analysis of the five elements that give rise to scenes; a breakdown of how entertainment businesses fit into scenes by business type; and strategic recommendations for each. If you are not a client but would like to learn how you can access this report, reach out to enquiries@midiaresearch.com.
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